March 4, 2008

Quarterfinal vs. Texas A&M-Commerce Game Notes in PDF Format

CANYON, Texas - After surging to the top of the Lone Star Conference South Division by winning 13 of their last 14 contests, the West Texas A&M basketball team can put all that behind it now as it enters postseason play this week at the 2008 Lone Star Conference Basketball Championships in Bartlesville, Okla.

The Buffs will kick off tournament action on Wednesday as they face the No. 4 seed from the LSC North Division, Texas A&M-Commerce, in a 2:30 p.m. contest at Bruin Field House.

West Texas A&M wrapped up the top seed in the LSC South last Wednesday as they defeated Abilene Christian to complete its conference schedule with an 11-1 record. Tarleton State (22-5; 9-3 LSC-S) will enter the field as No. 2 seed from the South Division and will face North No. 3 Northeastern State (14-13; 7-5 LSC-N) at 6 p.m.

The opening game of the tournament will see Southwestern Oklahoma (21-6; 9-3 LSC-N), the North's second seed, take on the No. 3 South school, Abilene Christian (19-8; 6-6 LSC-S) in a noon match. North Division top seed Central Oklahoma (22-5; 11-1 LSC-N) will conclude the first day of play at the tournament at 8:30 p.m. when it faces Angelo State (17-10; 6-6 LSC-S).

The Texas A&M-Commerce Lions wrapped up the post season berth by claiming victorious in three of their last four contests, finishing the regular season with a 12-15 overall mark and a 7-5 record in LSC North action. North Division Player of the Year candidate Scooby Johnson leads the way for the Lions, averaging 20.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. In addition to Johnson, Commerce's roster features two other players in double-figure scoring for the season, Kevin Widemond, 14.2 points per game, and Lance Jackson, 10.1 points per game.

WT and TAMU-Commerce have already met once this season, way back on Nov. 29, when the Buffs defeating the visiting Lions 72-65 in a wild game at the First United Bank Center. In the contest, the two teams exchanged the lead 14 times but WT was able to hold on down the stretch behind a double-double effort from senior forward Tyler Cooper, who finished with a game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds.

The Buffs are 8-2 against this year's tournament field, with the only losses coming on the road to Central Oklahoma and Tarleton State.